Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Badminton Racket Review: Li-Ning TurboCharging N9 Fu Hai Feng

What first struck me was the design of the racket (what else, right?), and also the amount of flex that Li-Ning gave to it. They're a fan of stiff rackets, but this one came across with a medium flex feel, which made me feel good.

About time they made head heavy rackets with a slightly flexible shaft.

The results were notably good, with the N9 performing well in many areas of the court. If you're looking for a slightly flexible N90 without the overly head-heavy distribution of the N90-II, this one might be a choice for you.

The N9 also comes with a rather innovative head shape. It's sword shaped on the top half, but cuts inwards to form a armored shaft ala the Nanoray 700RP. This gives it a very unique feel - it brings the head weight distribution slightly lower towards the t-joint, makes the swings a little faster, but delivers the punch because of the heavier and more stable t-joint area.

This would a lot more welcome if they were to win the BWF World Championships, but this is a good racket that's worth shouting about so here goes.

Note. This review is my opinion of the racket for my use. Take this with a pinch of salt since I don't play the game as well as most of you out there. I'm here to tell you, in as much accuracy as I can, how my games went with this racket. Comments welcome!

I recommend this racket for heavy smashers (it's made for use by Fu Hai Feng, people).

Defense
Anyone who's ever used a head heavy racket and compared it to a head light one would tell you how it usually swings slower. This slower swing speed is compensated with a heavier block towards the back court.

Remember what I said about the unique head shape of the N9? This comes into play when I try to explain why this racket isn't as slow as I had initially thought it would be.

The Li-Ning TurboCharging N9 Fu Hai Feng feels like an even balanced racket on the defense. This is largely due to the weight distribution closer to the t-joint instead of being at the very top.

The racket suffers less from the slower swing than its head heavier counterparts, but has enough mass at the t-joint to deliver a good lift to the back if needed.

From lifts to blocks and drives, the N9 performs admirably in the games that I've given it. The medium flex might take a little more power from the hard blocks, but overall I was pretty impressed with how fast it responded.

Attack
"TurboCharging" and "Fu Hai Feng" sounds like this racket has steroids imbued into its graphite. The sadistic thing is that it actually feels like it does.

Attacking strokes with this racket feels true and powerful. The heavier t-joint gives you a very good accuracy on the smashes and the drives, and this is always a nice gift to someone who doesn't rely much on attacking like myself.

I've always been a fan of flexibility in the shaft when it comes to giving that long big swing to smash it home. It was made the Yonex Voltric 70 a winner, and it is what makes the Li-Ning N9 such a potent attacking racket.

Very powerful attacks.

Control
Here's when it sounds a little too good to be true. The Li-Ning TurboCharging N9 Fu Hai Feng actually gives you a pretty decent aim, given its propensity to put its users into overdrive berserk mode.

I give kudos to the solid t-joint (I have got to figure out what they call this head frame shape...).

Ok I just checked the racket and it's called the Dynamic-Optimum Frame.

So kudos to the solid Dynamic-Optimum Frame, which grants this racket the accuracy without losing out much on the power. Rackets that feature variations of this technology (i.e. Yonex Voltric series, Nanoray 700RP) tend to also be devastating in both attack and accuracy, and the N9 doesn't come across as any much different.

When I take a shot, I tell myself where I want the shuttle to go, move to the shuttle, swing, and see how it turns out.

The N9 gave me very few surprises. Nice.

Looks
Black and gold adorns the entire racket, making this a very majestic beast. Li-Ning rackets have progressively improve in design (seriously, has anyone seen the first generation N50?), and this is a tremendous effort in making badminton look sexy.

52 comments:

Dennis
said...

Hey Arthur!

First off: Great site. Your reviews are of great assistance, as I am trying to decide on what rackets to test and to buy later on.

Now, at the moment I'm playing an old AT700 (and still getting to know it), I want to take a VT80 to the swing next weekend, though. As it looks like the N9 seems somewhat comparable the VT80 - what is your opinion? How do they compare in term of feel?I don't think I can get my hands on an N9 in the foreseeable future (only, Yonex-specialized shops around), so I wanna know if it pays to go for a greater effort to test this one here of if it's "worth" missing it.

I used n90ii (after i saw your review, i decide to buy it). Every time after couple match i started feeling tired probably because the heaviness and stiffness ( is it true?). Right now i consider to have another racquet to use whenever i feel tired. Is this the racquet that i should buy? Stif or flex. Which one is easy to use.? Thanks

Hey Arthur, really enjoying your site here!I have a couple of questions to ask you. Firstly, how does the Li Ning N90iii perform for your/ :)Like you, I've been looking forward to this racket for a long time. Seeing Lin Dan "make the change" to this racket made me think it must probably be another N90, so what do you think?How does the N90iii compare to the N90ii and N90i in terms of speed and power? Not really a good player myself, but personally I took a few swings with N90ii and I must say it fitted me quite well.Oh yeah, and lastly according to your review of the N9, its a rather powerful racket, so how does it compare as well?Can't wait for your review of the N90iii :)

Wow your specifications are awesomeIs the head size about the same as the traditional racket or as small as a Z Force or only a tiny smidge smaller than the N09ii? As a not very professional player, I find it a breeze to play with the N90ii as it has a much bigger sweetspot. I tried the VTZF for about 3 months and it was sure horrible for me.However, I have come to notice that despite some rackets have a smaller head size, they also have a bigger sweetspot compared to other rackets with larger heads, indirectly providing more accuracy and power.Lastly, you once claimed that the VTZF had "The Strongest Smash Of The Lot". How does the N9 compare to the VTZF?Thanks!

Excellent review, and it helped clear up a lot of my doubts. I even bought an N9 after reading your review, going to try it out tomorrow. I've also got some questions, so I'm hoping you'll help me clear my doubts. Thanks!

Firstly, when I bought the N9, I tried to weigh it personally, and I discovered that the shaft was actually rather even-balanced, nowhere near the head heaviness of N90 (or even N90iii, which rather disappointed me in the power factor). As such, I would like to ask you about how you managed to identify it as head heavy.

Secondly, how is the size of the racket head for N9? I have heard that the N90ii has a large racket head (which I really need, because I've only been playing for 2 years, and my aim is not very good). How does the N9 compare to it in this?

Thirdly, how is the sweetspot of the racket as compared to other rackets? My aim is not very good, and I often mis-hit the left and right parts of the racket head(on the string). Since I am rather lousy in identifying racket sweetspots, would you please share this information with me?

That's all. Thanks very much and please post more reviews soon! They rock!

P.S. The Nanoray Z-Speed seems kind of appealing to me because of its expanded sweetspot, speed and power. You seemed to have used it before. Would you also mind sharing about your experience with it? Thanks!

Had a swing with the racket today, and I'm pleased to say that the racket worked rather well for me, especially in my point-zero smash where I had to use my arm and my backhand rallies.

However, the flexible shaft of the N9 did not seem to generate as much power as the stiff one of the N90, which I still personally feel is the best rallying racket except it makes one's arms ache easily :(

The N9 also seems to have an odd effect. The more I play with it, the more powerful it seems to become, contrasting with the N90.

I 'll have another game tomorrow, hope I can fully unleash the power of the N9. But the smashes are really very satisfying indeed!

hi there , good reviews thank u so much ... im planing to get n80 or n9 ... and i need ur information for n80 ... nt reli know about that .. i have no idea ... bt i gt a lot of customer said that n80 is a good racket .. good in defense and offense ... i need ur information thank you

Hi Arthur,,How does N9 compare with F9...both used by Fu HF? Is it worth getting N9 when I have already a F9? I'm not a power player, not a strong smasher and wanted to have a suitable racket to help in this department. What do you suggest? Considering N9, N7, VT70, and RSL X7 Carbon.

i have recently broke my shaft for my yonex z force and i am starting to look for a new racket. i am looking for a racket that is head heavy and is excellent at the back.i am still deciding on whether to get a n9 or n90 III or victor brave sword 12 or brave sword lyd or the li-ning n55 iii. i would like your opinion on what racket to get. thank you Arthur and keep up the reviews

I hope to get your advice on picking a Li Ning racket suitable for me. I have an arc 10 which is great,tried the voltric 80 which is too head heavy for me to handle,MP99 is a little too stiff but the head heaviness is still manageable. I am looking at which rackets you would recommend for me who plays doubles, but i am not someone who likes to smash. the rackets im looking at are n36, n90ii s stype and n7 or n9. I previously was keen on the n36 but i think it seemed a little too flexible and head light. Which of the above rackets would you recommend or if not based on your experience which other li ning racket would you recommend? Gladly appreciate your advice. =)

I've not had a lot of experience with the N55-II so I won't be able to give you a good comparison.

However, from what you described in your email about your playing style, I think the N9 will be a good pick.

The racket is very versatile in play, allowing you to carry out a good attack while giving you the assurance that your defense won't be wide open should you need to lift.

Looking at how the second generation Li-Ning rackets tend to be more head heavy and flexible, I'm going to reckon that the N55-II won't offer much control, though your offense will prob go up a little.

The only think you might want to look out for is the weird balance point of the N9, as detailed in the review.

The weight's at the t-joint, and it'll take a bit of getting used to.

With that, I hope I gave you enough to make a decision. Let me know how it goes.

Thank you for your detailed response. Again, after further investigation and research, with more insight from your reviews, comments and other sources, I've narrowed my choice down to either the N90-II or N90-III, with more inclination towards the 2nd gen.

Even though there weren't many sources that explicitly compares the difference between the two rackets, I had to use bits and pieces of information to form my judgement.

One big reason is that it seems the improvements of the N90-III were more detrimental to its performance than really increasing it. Neither is it as head heavy as the N90 or N90-II, nor is it as stiff. Rather, it seems as though the N90-III combines the worst specs of its predecessors.

The second biggest reason is its price. With my reason above and its price being substantially greater than the N90-II, I would lean much towards getting the N90-II.

Although with that said, it would be great if you can shed some more light on the technical differences between the 2nd gen and the 3rd gen N90s, to make a more informed decision.

I finally went for the N90-II. After taking it out for a spin, my feelings of the racket were quite similar to your review. The defense and control of the racket was outstanding. I found myself returning a lot of smashes that were being thrown at me. And stringing it at 28/29 (crazy I know) made the touch shots really sweet. Drives in fast rallies felt pretty awesome too.

Drawbacks to it would be the smashes. It's heavy, no doubt about it. But I think it just takes time getting use to. And yes, the arm does get tired really easily from using it after about an hour or more. However, that just gets me more motivated to perfect my smashes with this wonderful heavyweight.

Overall, I probably would give similar ratings to what you've given in your review and I'm looking forward to playing many more games with the N90-II.

The N9 doesn't attack as hard has the ZF2, though it does carry its own weight in offense. What you will get with the N9 is a higher speed rating, since you're basically lugging around less weight in the head.

great review! I'm interested in buying the N9. I already played with this racket once and I really enjoyed it. However, I've had a little bit of a sore arm after playing. I'm not sure if it came from this racket or another one (because I tried different ones). I've read other reviews and several people were saying that they found the racket to be heavy. What are your thoughts on that? I'm a female player, so this would be a deciding factor...

Btw. I didn't like the Voltric 70, and think that head-heavy flexible rackets usually don't fit my style. But this one was different! Don't know why :)

I can't make a comment about your arm, but I do hope it's healed by now.

The N9 is no way as head-heavy as the Voltric 70. The weight of the head actually comes in nearer the shaft than other conventional head-heavy rackets.

The funny weight distribution takes a little getting used to. You should try using the racket for fast flat rallies to get a sense of the control and speed you get out of it. If it's too heavy for those shots it's probably not for you.